Qsemble Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 2,241 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,241 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $557,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,556,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $132,565,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,791,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.3 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $275.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $255.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.